The invention relates to a system for managing a large number of reusable multi-trip receptacles each of which is marked by a code in an identifiable manner, the multi-trip receptacles being used in a number of cycles in several local stations separated from each other and the code being read at each cycle.
The invention furthermore relates to a code which is particularly suitable for this system for managing a large number of reusable multi-trip receptacles, the coding elements being able to be placed only at positions which are arranged in a grid.
The multi-trip receptacles can be transport means or containers, in particular reusable drinks bottles.
In the drinks industry, the same type of drinks bottles, so-called pool bottles, are used by several drinks bottling plants which together form a so-called pool. These are multi-trip bottles. The use of the same type of bottle by several drinks bottlers simplifies the return and re-use of the empty bottles for the consumer and the drinks bottlers. In the case of glass bottles, this system has proved successful for many years, and the bottles are reused on average thirty times or more and have a usage life of many years.
For some time, reusable plastic bottles have also been on the market. Plastic bottles have a softer surface than glass bottles and therefore scratch more easily, so that they become unsightly after approx fifteen cycles or uses. In addition, they are not as dimensionally stable as glass bottles and shrink slightly over time, so that they no longer have the quoted capacity. It is therefore necessary to limit the number of times they are re used and the overall usage life of such plastic bottles.
It is known to code the bottles with a 28-bit code which amongst other things gives the manufacturer and the date of manufacture. This code is read at each cycle, i.e. before each use of the bottle, and when a certain usage life is exceeded, the bottle is removed and destroyed.
A laser coding is also known in which each bottle is marked on the side upon each use using a laser beam, the height of the mark giving the number of uses. Each time the bottle is used, the mark applied the previous time is read or recorded, and a new mark is applied at a certain distance above it. This mark consists of a small welding point produced using the laser beam. Only the number of uses or cycles can be established by means of this mark, but not the age of the bottle. In addition, the welding point interferes when inspecting empty bottles with a CCD camera, as it can easily be taken for a foreign body. A further disadvantage of this mark is that it can be easily missed or its reading suppressed, so that unsightly bottles are then in the cycle and in addition the task of disposing of the bottle is passed onto the next user. Finally, each drinks bottling station must be equipped with a laser for applying the mark.
A process for filling multi-trip receptacles with a liquid product is known from DE-A-41 21 881 in which the containers are provided with a code before being filled. Before filling, the correctness of the code is tested. The code consists of a code body which can be attached to the bottom of the container. The code body has a number of vertical holes which are scanned by pins of the code-reading device.
A device for marking containers with a replenishing and refilling code is known from DE-A-42 37 517, the codes that are already present being recorded and the container being rotated such that the additional refilling code to be applied does not cover the already present refilling codes or overlap with them. The refilling codes are applied to the plastic containers by means of a laser marking system. The laser beam is shaped by a mask.
The application of an optically readable code mark on a plastic bottle using a laser beam is known from DE-A-41 07 012. The laser beam is directed onto a horizontal surface of the bottle, e.g. the support ring or the base surface at an angle of 7 to 15xc2x0 to the axis of the plastic bottle. The code mark can be formed from linear or punctiform indentations which can be applied laterally in sequence.
It is known from DE-C-41 26 626 to provide a plastic bottle under the surface with a mark by focussing a Laser beam on a point which lies inside the wall material of the relevant surfaces.
An optical-electrical sensor for reading a bottle code mark is known from DE-A-37 22 422, which consists of raised points or lines. By means of an optical fiber, a light beam is directed onto the code mark and the reflected light directed to a photoelectric receiver.
A control system for the recognition, counting, logging and recording of various uses in a bottling plant is known from DE-U-295 13 600, the whole bottling process being controlled via a central unit.
The object of the invention is to create a system for managing a large number of reusable multi-trip receptacles which, by simple means, facilitates a limitation of the number of uses or cycles of each individual multi-trip receptacle.
This object is achieved according to the invention in that data which have been recorded in the local stations for the individual multi-trip receptacle are stored allocated to the read code in a central station, and are evaluated to establish the number of cycles or uses of each multi-trip receptacle.
Preferably the age of each multi-trip receptacle is also established using the data stored in the central station. When a certain age or a certain number of uses is reached, the local stations are informed that the multi-trip receptacle in question is no longer to be used. To this end, each local station contains a memory in which the code of those multi-trip containers which are no longer to be used is stored. Each bottle is identified before filling, using the code, and the read code is compared with the stored codes of the multi-trip receptacles no longer to be used. If necessary, the multi-trip receptacle is then removed.
With the system according to the invention, the data transfer between the stations and the central station occurs expediently at regular intervals, e.g. daily or weekly. The time interval is to be shorter than half of the shortest time interval to be expected between two successive uses of the same multi-trip receptacle. This ensures that no multi-trip receptacle is used too often simply because the data in the central station have not been updated.
Before or during the first use of a new multi-trip receptacle, the following information is preferably stored by the central station in combination with the code, and these data are stored allocated to the code, in the central station:
the date of manufacture,
the manufacturer,
the local station in which the new multi-trip receptacle is used for the first time.
Preferably, the data stored in the central station at each cycle, allocated to the code of each multi-trip receptacle, contain one or more of the following details:
the contents, e.g. the drink bottled
the date on which the multi-trip receptacle was recorded in the local stations, i.e. the current date,
the local station in which the multi-trip receptacle is currently recorded.
The recording of the contents is advantageous in particular for plastic drinks bottles as these bottles preserve the taste of the drink, e.g. of a bottled fruit juice If water is bottled the next time the bottle is used, the water will still taste of this fruit juice. Through the process according to the invention, it can be ensured that only bottles in which no flavouring-containing drink was previously bottled are used for water.
Using the data stored in the central station before or during the first use, and the data added to this during each cycle, the following values can be established for each multi-trip receptacle through the evaluation of these data in the central station:
the age,
the number of uses,
the number of uses or passages in a particular local station.
The whole history of the multi-trip receptacle emerges from these data. Much more detailed charging and pool management procedures are thereby facilitated. For example, in the case of drinks bottles, the individual bottling companies can be charged the manufacturing and disposal costs according to the actual number of times a drinks bottle has been used. Although the bottle type is always the same, it can be ensured that only the same drink product is always bottled in a bottle.
Overall, in addition to the recording of the features already mentioned, namely age and number of uses, the following possibilities result from the evaluation in the central station:
Recording by manufacturer,
Recording by contents, e.g. drink types,
Tracking the life-cycle (last user or filler),
Recording the plant which supplied a particular multi-trip receptacle, and the number of multi-trip receptacles supplied by a particular plant,
Recording the plant which removed and destroyed a particular multi-trip receptacle, and the total number of these multi-trip receptacles,
Monitoring destruction,
Monitoring the pool for foreign multi-trip receptacles which have been smuggled in.
Furthermore, on the basis of these data, local statistics and product tracking can be provided without additional outlay on identification. The following further possibilities result from the evaluation in the local station:
Removal, recording and detection by the number of cycles, by age and other criteria,
Recording of internal data, product lines, time of use and batch,
Evaluation of own cycle by share, cycle time etc.
The centrally managed data can be coupled by means of fuzzy logic with data which are currently being recorded in the local station. Drinks bottles can be inspected e.g. visually, or examined for shrinkage, scratches or tarnishing of the material, and the decision as to whether the bottle is removed can be made taking account of all of these parameters.
A further advantage of the system is that each local station requires only a reading device, but not a writing or marking device (laser).
The multi-trip receptacles can also each carry a transponder chip which contains the code. Data for each multi-trip receptacle can then be stored in its own transponder chip.
The system can also be used for simultaneous management of different types of multi-trip receptacles, in particular bottle types. The code can give the type of multi-trip receptacle, e.g. the bottle type.
As, through the process according to the invention, the movement flows of the multi-trip receptacles can be accurately copied for the first time, reliable statements on the environmental pollution caused by different systems of multi-trip receptacles can be made using these data. In particular, the transport routes can be taken into account.
Avoidance of this system of recording each multi-trip receptacle during each cycle is hardly possible, as the code is read upon each use of a container, to ensure that it is the correct type of receptacle (bottle type). Avoidance is also largely unattractive as each user (bottling plant) is charged anyway with the costs only according to his share of the use of the multi-trip receptacles (bottles).
The system is secured against an unauthorized supply of multi-trip receptacles not belonging to the pool, as duplicates of codes or not yet issued or allocated codes would be recognized immediately. In particular, the cumulative occurrence of such multi-trip receptacles with one particular user can be established on the basis of the stored data.
A 32-bit code should suffice to be able to identify all multi-trip receptacles using the code. 232 (≈4 billion) multi-trip receptacles can be distinguished with it. The code can consist of a continuous numbering of the bottles. The reading reliability can be improved by algorithms, redundancy, parity or recovery bits.
The code can be constructed so that at least the approximate manufacturing date of the multi-trip receptacle can be established from it directly, i.e. without recourse to the data stored in the central station multi-trip receptacles which exceed a particular age can thenxe2x80x94as previouslyxe2x80x94be removed immediately without waiting first for the signal from the central station. This signal would lead to the removal of the multi-trip receptacle only when it is next used.
In the case of containers, the code can be a bar code. In particular in the case of drinks bottles, the code can be located on the base of the bottle and the code can be read upon inspection of the bottom of the bottle. Alternatively, the code can also be applied at the mouth ring or at the carrying ring of the bottles, the advantage of universal readability then obtaining. The code can also be applied to the side wall and can be read upon inspection of the side wall.
The code must be extremely durable and is therefore expediently etched into the plastic material of the bottle using a laser. In the case of plastic bottles, the code can also consist of a pattern of fields with different molecular orientation of the material. Such a molecular orientation can be produced when embossing plastic bottles by cooling under tension, e.g. by means of Peltier elements. Such a pattern could then be recognised only in polarized light. For containers made of metal, the individual fields can also be differently magnetized (magnet code). The code can be read by means of a CCD camera and usual evaluation processes or with corresponding scanners or reading devices.
Whereas, in the case of bar codes, which are printed, both different bar widths and different widths of the empty spaces are used, in the case of coding by means of mask lasers the possible sites of the coding elements or dots are arranged in a grid. With this process, the digits are represented in the dual system, i.e. no dot (non-dot) corresponds to zero, and when present a dot corresponds to one. To date, in Germany plastic drinks bottles have been coded by means of such a code, a 28 or 30-bit being used, and the time of manufacture, manufacturer, and bottle type being shown by the code.
When coding by means of a mask laser, a laser pulse is used to etch into the material of the multi-trip receptacle, e.g. the wall of a PET multi-trip bottle a coding element or dot of a size which is established by the dimensions of the laser pulse. The dimensions of the laser pulse depend on the mask used. Mask lasers have a specific maximum shooting or pulse frequency of for example 100 Hz, i.e. two successive laser pulses must have a specific minimum interval between them, 10 ms in the chosen example. This maximum limit of the pulse frequency results from the time required to charge the capacitors of the flashlamps which pump the active material. The multi-trip receptacles to be provided with the code are moved past the mask laser at a specific speed, and the minimum interval between the dots is the speed of the multi-trip receptacles divided by the maximum pulse frequency of the mask laser. With the known coding processes operating with mask lasers, the positions in which coding elements can be placed are arranged in a grid which corresponds approximately to this minimum interval. The grid can also be larger, but not smaller.
The object of the invention is also to create a code which is particularly suitable for the system for managing a large number of multi-trip receptacles, in particular if the multi-trip receptacles are plastic bottles.
This object is achieved according to the invention in that no coding element is placed in at least one grid position between two grid positions in which coding elements (dots) are placed.
Because a grid position must thus remain free after a dot, i.e. a further dot can be placed only in the next-but-one grid position, the grid can be narrower than with the conventional processes operating with mask lasers. If at least one grid position remains free after a placed dot, the grid can amount to half the above-mentioned minimum interval between grid positions as established by the laser pulse frequency. In other words: Within this digit, information is stored not only through the presence or absence of a dot, but also through its absolute position relative to the front edge of the digit. More values can thereby be coded than would be possible with a fixed structure.
If two grid positions are left free after a placed dot, the grid can amount to a third of this minimum interval, etc. Which value makes most sense in the individual case depends on the clarity of the outline of the placed dots and the accuracy with which the dots can be placed. Furthermore, the accuracy with which the code can be read upon decryption is to be taken into account. In the following, it is assumed that after each placed dot, only the following grid position must remain free.
The width of the coding elements can be greater or smaller than the grid or equal to the grid. Preferably, the width of the coding elements or dots is greater than the grid, e.g. by 30%. Despite this relatively large width of the dots, they can be distinguished without difficulty, as no dot can be placed in the grid field following a placed dot, so that this field is free and the dot placed in the preceding grid field can therefore also occupy the start of this field. Because a further dot may be placed only in the next-but-one field, the combinations of dots and non-dots are admittedly restricted, but on the other hand the grid can be smaller This code is therefore less suitable for representing digits in a dual system.
Preferably, the mark is a continuous numbering of the multi-trip receptacles. Several grid fields, in the following two in each case, form a module and two or more modules are used to represent one digit of the numbering. The module width results in the specific case from the transport speed of the multi-trip receptacles divided by the pulse frequency of the laser.
Preferably, the digits are reproduced in the duodecimal system. Two grid widths form one module each and three modules are used to reproduce a digit of the duodecimal system. Five dot positions are then available to reproduce one digit. The sixth dot position must remain free, i.e. a non-dot must be present there, as a dot would extend into a module of the next digit, which is to be avoided. There are thus five possible positions for a single dot within the three modules which are used to reproduce a digit. There are six possible positions for two dots, it being necessary to take into account that the second dot can stand at the earliest at twice the grid interval or one module away from the first, as both would otherwise overlap. Finally, there is only one possible position for three dots within three modules. There are therefore twelve positions available in total, so that this code is suitable for use in the duodecimal system.
Preferably, the number of grid positions in which no coding elements are placed between two placed coding elements (free grid positions) is limited. The coding of a digit by nothing but non-dots is therefore waived, i.e. each digit value is coded with at least one dot. The maximum gap between two dots is thereby limited, thus facilitating machine-readability of the code. The reading of the code can be synchronized only to placed dots. The most unfavorable case occurs when a digit which is reproduced by a dot in the first position of the first module is followed by a digit which is reproduced by a dot in the third modulexe2x80x94necessarily in the first position of this module. The gap between the two dots has a width in this case of 4.5 modules or 9 grid positions.
This means in summary: On condition that the next dot may be set at the earliest at an interval of one module after a dot, i.e. in the next-but-one grid field, five dot positions result in total within the three modules, and digits of the values 0 to 11 can be represented. In the case of dots the width of which is greater than the grid, a dot is in the last of the three modules placed only at the start of the module, as a dot in the last grid field could otherwise overlap with a dot in the first grid field of the following digit.
To reduce the maximum number of the successive positions in which no coding element is placed, an additional coding element is placed preferably in the second position of the last module (last grid field) of a digit whenever no coding element is placed in the first position of the first module of the next digit. The number of free grid positions can thereby be limited to 5.
Depending on the size of the pool of multi-trip receptacles that is to be managed, the code consists of 8, 9 or 10 digits which are represented in the duodecimal system.
Preferably, the coding of the multi-trip receptacles is applied by means of a mask laser. Such a laser has a pre-set maximum pulse frequency. The multi-trip receptacles are moved past the mask laser at such a speed that double (triple etc. n-times) the width of a grid position is approximately equal to this speed divided by the maximum pulse frequency. A coding element set by a laser pulse is then followed by at least one (two, etc. nxe2x88x921) grid positions in which no coding element is placed.
When reading or scanning the code mark, the overall length of the code is firstly established, i.e. the distance between start and stop bits. These always have the value 1 in a dual code and are, in the code according to the invention, a dot in the first position of the first module.
It is then determined from the length of the code whether the code consists of 8, 9 or 10 digits. Each digit is composed of 3 modules so that, by dividing up the overall length of the code, the positions of the individual modules can be established. The front edge of the dot can either be aligned with the start of the module or be offset by half the module width, the dot then extending past the end of the module somewhat into the next module, or the module can be free.
With 8 digits for which 33 modules are required including the start and stop bits and the usual check bits, 400 million (128) containers can be identified. With 9 digits, and correspondingly 36 modules, 5 billion (129) containers can be identified. The code would thereby be suitable for example for managing the pool of 1-litre GDB bottles in Germany.
The advantage of this code is in particular that with a pre-set type of module, a larger numerical range can be represented than in a dual system. However, the code requires a somewhat increased reading accuracy.